Commercializing Experts

Dr. Tom Kraft
Dr. Kraft is the Director of Client Services for the Houston Technology Center.  He is a native Californian, having graduated from UCLA with a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA from the Anderson School. After teaching at UCLA and research in biophysics, Dr. Kraft completed a masters program in mathematical statistics from Stanford University. After a brief period of research into control systems and working on the initial design of NASA’s Mission Control Center, he came to Houston to build that control center for the lunar flights.This experience was followed by a doctoral program at Rice in electrical engineering and math. Dr. Kraft founded several companies, one of which developed and commercialized medical and clinical devices in microbiology, immunology, hematology and clinical chemistry. This covered a period of  four decades and is reflected in numerous commercial successes and 19 patents. Prior to joining the Houston Technology Center, Dr. Kraft was a principal designer and consultant for an automated drug packaging and dispensing system for acute and sub acute patients. In addition to teaching at UCLA, Dr. Kraft was as adjunct Professor of Math for HCC and a visiting lecturer on creativity. At the Houston Technology Center, Dr. Kraft plays a lead role in accelerating technology start ups, principally in biosciences and bioengineering, as well as in space and other base technologies.

Ms. Deborah Mansfield
Ms. Mansfield is the Director, Life Sciences Program, Houston Technology Center (HTC), Houston, TX  - a non-profit business accelerator assisting the commercialization of emerging technology companies (www.houstontech.org). Deborah has an extensive background in business development, management, non-equity funding, entrepreneurship, compliance, and research in the Life Sciences sector. Besides her business development efforts for HTC life science client companies, she also promotes SBIR and STTR Federal grant awareness and utilization. She has provided operations support to the Governors Council on Science and Biotechnology Development and currently acts as Associate Director, Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization, supporting commercialization applications to the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (www.gulfcoastrcic.org).  Prior to joining HTC in 2004, Deborah accomplished basic research and clinical projects at large academic healthcare institutions, advanced into business management, held the institution wide position of Pre-Award Grants Manager, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and started her own business development firm.  Deborah is an avid participant in many Houston groups supporting entrepreneurship and the commercialization of technology as follows: Nanotechnology Foundation of Texas; Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship; and MIT Enterprise Forum. Currently she serves as follows: Advisory Board of life science company, Laser Tissue Welding; Rice Alliance Roundtable Advisory Board; Steering Committee, Bio/Medical Technology Club of Houston; Executive Board, Houston Texchange (Technology Entrepreneurs' eXchange); and University of Houston Biotechnology Industrial Advisory Committee. Deborah holds a MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University, as well as science degrees -MS from Pennsylvania State University, and BS from California State University of Pennsylvania. dmansfield@houstontech.org

Ms. Nila Bhakuni
Since February of 2005, Ms. Bhakuni is currently the Director of Technology Transfer at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where she has the responsibility of commercializing technology that is developed at Rice University. Prior to her position at Rice, she worked at Harvard's Office for Technology and Trademark Licensing where she lead commercialization activities in the physical sciences and software. Prior to Harvard, Nila worked at Carnegie Mellon's Technology Transfer Office. She has broad experience in many areas, but her technology specialty is in the physical sciences, specifically nanotechnology, MEMS, materials, software, wireless technology, and robotics. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, Nila spent 10 years working in several different areas at Alcoa's Technical Center. Nila has been very active in the Licensing Executives Society where she has served as a speaker, Chair of Nanotechnology in the High Tech Sector, Chair-Elect of the Chemicals, Materials, and Energy Sector, as a member of the Board of Trustees. Nila has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Akron, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University, and an MSIA (MBA) from Carnegie Mellon University's Graduate School of Industrial Administration.

Dr. Brian Phillips
Dr. Phillips joined Rice University's Office of Technology Transfer in August 2007. Brian joined Rice from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he worked in the field of Biochemistry and Biophysics as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Brian's background includes extensive experience in the fields of Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology, and Marine Ecology. He received his PhD from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Biomedical Sciences where he was a Dean's Research Award Scholar as well as a National Library of Medicine - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Fellow; and his BS from the University of Houston in Biology where he graduated cum laude with membership in the Honor's College and was a Provost's Undergraduate Research Scholar.

Mr. Daniel Miller
Dan joined Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer in September 2007. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Kettering University in 2005. While at Kettering, he worked as a mechanical engineering co-op student at Wright Industries in Nashville, Tennessee, where he designed automated assembly equipment. He worked as a full-time Mechanical Design Engineer at Wright for a year before enrolling in the MS-MBA program at the University of Tennessee. While at Tennessee, he worked as graduate assistant in the Technology Transfer Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 2007, he received his MBA and M.S. (industrial engineering) degrees.

Mr. Brad Burke
Mr. Burke is Managing Director of the Rice Alliance. Most recently, he founded and managed the local office of Viant Corporation, a premier internet consulting firm, delivering internet strategy, creative design, and web technology implementation. Viant went public through an IPO in 1999. Prior to Viant, Brad was a Principal with CSC Index, the management consulting division of Compuer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Before consulting, Brad held management positions with Exxon Corporation. He received his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and his BS from Vanderbilt University.